A FOIA response provides an unusual look at the removal of a series of asylum officer training documents, and a... View Article
Continue reading2016 ads hitting the web, public left in the dark
A new series of political ads by SEIU, a powerful liberal union, targets four Republican Senators up for re-election in 2016. Carefully crafted as "issue ads," the expenditures don't have to be disclosed like normal campaign advertisements.
Continue readingShining a Light on Black Budgets
Last week, the Washington Post reported that new documents leaked by Edward Snowden reveal the budgets of the sixteen United States intelligence agencies. The budgets, which had never previously been revealed to the American public, totaled $52.6 billion, including $14.7 billion for the Central Intelligence Agency, $10.8 billion the National Security Agency, and $10.3 billion for the National Reconnaissance Office. This revelation shines a badly needed light on the way that our intelligence agencies spend money. We’ve written about the importance of spending transparency many times before. As we’ve argued, “access to government spending information is a fundamental pillar of an accountable government. It provides a basis for citizen participation, promotes government integrity, and encourages greater efficiency.”
Continue readingCivil rights groups want details on immigrant fingerprint program
As Arizona turns up the heat on illegal immigrants, civil rights groups are demanding the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) release details about a rapidly expanding federal program that helps local police identify illegal immigrants for potential deportation. The Center for Constitutional Rights and two other groups filed a lawsuit on April 27 attempting to force ICE to turn over data about its “Secure Communities” program after failing to get the information through a Freedom of Information Act request.
“This program has very little public scrutiny. There’s very little known about the way it operates,” said Sunita ...
New Platforms for Policy Fights
The Society for Human Resource Management is displeased with a public blog post by Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Stewart Baker... View Article
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